Cultural variation in seasonal depression: Cross-national differences in winter versus summer patterns of seasonal affective disorder

Background: Research suggests that two dimensions of national culture, individualism-collectivism and power distance, predict affective responses to the seasonally varying levels of ambient sunlight that may underlie regular cycles of mood and behavior in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Specifically, negative affect is predicted by the diminished sunlight of fall-winter in countries higher in individualism and lower in power distance, and by the increased sunlight of spring-summer in countries lower in individualism and higher in power distance. This study tests whether individualism correlates positively, and power distance negatively, with the frequency of winter-SAD relative to that of summer-SAD. Method: A search for studies reporting frequencies of both winter-SAD and summer-SAD identified 55 samples encompassing 18 countries and 38,408 participants, including 1931 with SAD. Results: The frequency of winter-SAD, relative to that of summer-SAD, correlated positively with individualism (r=.67, p=.001) and negatively with power distance (r=-.72, p=.0001). Countries in which winter-SAD was more common than summer-SAD were significantly more individualistic and less power-distant than countries in which summer-SAD was more common than winter-SAD. Results survived various tests of threats to validity. Limitations: The study is limited by the quantity, quality, diversity, and representativeness of the research under review and by its correlational design. Conclusions: Individualism and power distance are strongly related to the relative prevalence of winter-SAD and summer-SAD. Culture may play an important but previously overlooked role in the etiology of SAD. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.